Windsor High School's 2012 enrollment numbers show it had 1,163 students, 127 students shy of reaching its building capacity. / Don Reichert/For the Beacon

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Located directly east of Severance Middle School is the anticipated 236-acre site for Weld RE-4's potential new high school. The district purchased the site in 2008. / Don Reichert/For the Beacon

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The idea of a new high school for the Weld RE-4 school district is starting to take shape.

The school board met with members of the Long Range Facility Planning Committee on Monday night to discuss the future of a high school in Severance, and it decided to move forward with creating a potential timeline for the project.

The general plan is to first start a high school focus committee by March 1, said Superintendent Karen Trusler. She said she will seek out staff, parents, community members and students to get feedback and research possible program components — STEM, IB, career tech or traditional — for the new school.

Trusler hopes the district will start the selection process for an architect by Sept. 1 and one month later start work on a utility master plan, with final reports from the focus committee coming in around Dec. 15.

Last year, the Long Range Facility Planning Committee — a standing committee focused on studying Weld RE-4’s enrollment trends and needs — recommended that the district monitor enrollment numbers and plan for a new high school to be built around 2019. They upheld that Monday, saying that with current projections, Windsor High School will reach the 20 percent-over-capacity number it needs to warrant a new high school by 2019.

Windsor High School’s 2012 enrollment numbers show it had 1,163 students, 127 students shy of reaching building capacity — not taking potential outbuildings or modular classrooms into account.

For capacity to be available in 2019, this would mean that the district would have to ask for a bond for the project in a 2016 election, said Long Range Planning Committee Chairwoman Cindy Scheuerman.

Scheuerman called planning and communication “key factors” for the school board members as they move forward with the project and start work leading up to the bond election.

“This bond election will be extremely important for the future of the district,” Scheuerman said in an email to the Beacon.

Scheuerman said there’s a lot of work to be done to prepare for the bond election, especially in terms of finding out what the community wants to see offered, what the future high school’s capacity should look like, and what kind of curriculum offerings and delivery models to consider.

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“There are also other pieces that need to be in place in terms of development preparation because the proposed site is so raw,” Scheuerman said, adding that the district should start thinking about which part of the site will be used and what its utility and infrastructure needs will look like, so there’s “a clear picture of what the bond funds would be doing.”

The anticipated 236-acre site for the new high school is located directly east of Severance Middle School, across from the adjacent railroad tracks. The site was purchased by the district in 2008.

Once completed, the new high school will become the second high school in the Windsor and Severance area.

“For a community to grow from one high school to two is a big cultural change, and there’s a lot to account for in making that a smooth transition,” Scheuerman said. “It definitely can be smooth, as we saw when Severance Middle School opened, but it’s still a big shift; our community is very focused on the high school, and having two high schools will be a new experience.”

“Most importantly though, two high schools means twice as many chances for kids to be involved — whether it’s sports, class officers, student council, school plays, etc.” Scheuerman added. “And I think every parent and every citizen can understand the benefits of kids who are involved in their school community.”